Her Hero
by TheCaptainandThePostulant
Summary: On his birthday, Maria remembers how her father saved her life on the night of the fire that killed him and her mother and goes to his grave to give him a special gift. I hope that everyone who checks out this one-shot enjoys it and leaves a review (if you have time) to tell me what you thought. Disclaimer: I own Karl and the fireman. Nothing else. Thank you everyone! x


**Author's Note: So, after a while, I decided to write another one-shot! I cried whilst writing this because I'm a very emotional person, but I hope that you all like it, hehe! x**

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_'Mutti!' Maria cried before coughing as she breathed in the smoke, 'vati!'_

_She continued to shout for her parents through her sobs and cough as the smoke billowed around her room for a few minutes before the door swung open and her father all but ran inside, a sob of relief escaping her when he reached her bed and she was able to throw her arms around his neck. As she pressed her face into his throat she heard him cough and splutter into the handkerchief that he was covering his mouth and his nose with before he eased her back from him, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked into his eyes._

_'Vati? Vati, what's happening?' She whimpered with fear in her eyes._

_Karl shushed her after pulling the handkerchief away from his face and running his other hand through her hair. 'Everything is going to be fine, precious,' He soothed, 'but I need you to listen to me and I need you to be a brave girl, alright?' Maria nodded whilst sniffing through her tears before he coughed and brushed a kiss against her temple. 'I need to get you outside so I want you to hold this over your mouth and nose so that you don't breathe in the smoke.' He pressed the handkerchief to her face before she brought one of her hands up to keep it in place. 'That's it, good girl,' He smiled before rising from the bed, 'now come here.'_

_She pulled back the covers before standing up in bed and allowing him to take hold of her waist and lift her up onto his hip, her free arm winding itself around his neck whilst she wrapped her legs around his middle and rested her head on his shoulder. Before he carried her out of the bedroom he picked up the stuffed bear that he had surprised her with for her birthday the previous week, a sigh leaving him as he pressed a slow kiss onto her forehead before walking out of the smoke-filled bedroom. 'Shut your eyes, darling, so that the smoke doesn't irritate them.' He readjusted his hold of her once he had made it to the top of the staircase._

_Once he had seen that she had closed her eyes he glanced over at the bedroom that his wife was still in and prayed that she would be alright for the next few minutes whilst he carried Maria outside. He then started to walk down the staircase as quickly as he could with his little girl in his arms, his cough worsening as the smoke was much thicker on the ground floor. When he felt his eyes begin to sting from the smoke he shut them and groped the air for a time before his hand landed on the doorknob to the front door. A soft sigh of relief escaped him when he and Maria made it outside, his lips finding her brow as he gave her a squeeze._

_His little girl opened her eyes and lifted her head off of his shoulder when she realised that the two of them were no longer inside the house, a sniffle escaping her before she coughed and pulled the handkerchief off of her face. 'Vati,' She turned her head to look at him as he carried her over to the stump of a tree, 'where's mutti?' She allowed him to place her down on the floor before she sat herself down on the tree stump and he placed her stuffed bear in her lap whilst kneeling down in front of her, a gentle smile playing on her lips._

_'I'm going to go back inside for mutti now.' He informed her. 'I'll be back in a few minutes, I promise.'_

_'What do you want me to do?' She asked him whilst holding her bear close to her chest._

_Karl cupped her cheek beneath the curtain of her hair. 'All I want you to do is sit here and wait for me and mutti to come outside. I don't want you to move from this tree stump until you see us, is that clear? You could end up hurt and that's the last thing mutti and I want.' He brushed his thumb against her warm skin._

_'I won't move, vati,' She smiled before coughing, 'I promise.'_

_'You are **such **a good girl, Maria,' He pressed two kisses to her forehead, 'and I love you so much.'_

_She stroked his hair with the palm of her hand. 'I love you too.'_

_'Five minutes and then mutti and I will be with you, I promise.' He said to her as he got to his feet._

_She nodded in response before tightening her hold of her bear and burying her face in its soft fur whilst she watched him run back in the direction of their house. The next few minutes passed in silence as she stared at the front door and waited for her parents to come outside, a sigh escaping her as she gave her bear a kiss on the head. 'You don't have to be scared, Albern. Vati promised me that he and mutti would come soon and mutti told me that you should never break a promise. He'll come back soon, I know he will.' She said._

_Just moments later, however, when she looked back at the house there was a deafening bang which caused her to scream. The explosion made the windows shatter and the house go up in flames, her eyes widening as she watched her house burn and her heart hammered inside her chest like some kind of possessed beast. 'It's…it's okay, Albern…' She whimpered to the white bear, 'perhaps…perhaps they used the back door.'_

_She sat in silence for the next few minutes._

_The next few minutes then turned into the next half-an-hour._

_After almost an hour had passed she was able to hear the clanging of the fire engine but her gaze was fixed on the still-burning house in front of her. When the fire engine stopped and three firemen started to tackle the fire a tear rolled down her cheek before she turned her head towards the fireman that was walking over to her. 'Hello, sweetheart.' He offered her a tender smile as he looked at her after kneeling in front of her._

_'Hello.' She almost whispered._

_'What's your name?' He asked her._

_'It's...it's Maria.' She replied. 'Maria Rainer.'_

_He nodded in response. 'That's a beautiful name.'_

_'Thank you.' A small smile graced her features._

_'Can you tell me how old you are, Maria?' He raised his brow._

_She hummed with a nod. 'I turned seven last Wednesday.'_

_'Goodness me, you're practically a Lady!' He chuckled which earned him a faint giggle from her._

_'Mr. Fireman, please can you go and find my mutti and vati? I don't know where they are.' She told him._

_The fireman felt his heart sink in his chest. 'Maria, who brought you outside?' He inquired._

_'Vati did.' She told him. 'He told me to wait here for him and then he went back inside for mutti.'_

_'And was that the last time you saw him?' He cocked his head to one side._

_She nodded. 'Maybe he took mutti out of the back door. Please can you go and see if they're there?'_

_'Sweetheart, I…I don't think he took her out of the back door.' He admitted._

_'But he must have.' She shook her head. 'He didn't come out of the front door with her; I was watching!'_

_After looking at her in silence for a few seconds, the fireman covered her hand with his. 'Your hands are so cold, Maria.' He sighed. 'Why don't you come and sit in the fire engine? I'm sure there's a blanket there.'_

_'No, thank you.' She replied. 'I promised vati that I would sit here until I see him and mutti and mutti says that it's bad to break a promise.' The fireman lifted his hand from hers to her face before stroking it gently._

_'I think it'll be alright.' He told her. 'Just this once.'_

_Maria thought about his words for a time before sighing. 'Okay, but can I bring Albern?'_

_'Of course.' He smiled. 'I'm sure that he's feeling a little cold as well, isn't he?'_

_She shook her head. 'He has lots of fur to keep him nice and warm.'_

_'Oh, yes,' He tutted, 'silly me.'_

_The two of them then shared a smile before he rose from his knelt position and offered her his hand, Maria slipping her own into it before she got up from the tree stump and allowed him to walk her over to the fire engine. It didn't take long for him to find a blanket to wrap her in and to get into the fire engine with her, a gentle smile forming on his lips as she snuggled against his chest once he had brought her to sit in his lap. 'Are one of your firemen friends going to find mutti and vati?' She asked when she looked up into his eyes._

_'Can I ask you something, Maria?' He asked as he pulled the blanket further around her small frame._

_She nodded against his chest._

_'Do…do you know what heaven is?' He stroked her waist._

_'Yep.' She replied. 'It's where all the good people who die go.'_

_He looked at her for a moment. 'You're a very clever girl, aren't you?'_

_'Vati says that I'm a little genius.' She giggled. 'He says that sometimes I'm even cleverer than him.'_

_The fireman smiled. 'Maria, I'm going to tell you something and…and it's going to make you quite sad.'_

_'Do you have to tell me?' She asked. 'I don't like sad things.'_

_'I'm afraid I do.' He sighed. 'I…I think your mutti and vati were inside the house when the bang happened and…and if they were then that means that the two of them…the two of them are in heaven.' He told her._

_Maria's eyes filled with tears at his words. 'You're wrong.' She shook her head. 'Vati said that he would be five minutes. He promised me that! He said that he was going to get mutti and then come outside with her!'_

_'And I'm sure that that was what he was planning on doing, sweetheart.' He used the back of his forefinger to wipe the tear that escaped her eye off of her cheek. 'He couldn't have known that there was going to be an explosion.' When he saw Maria's lower lip start to tremble he pulled her a little further into his warmth._

_'So…' She whimpered, 'mutti and vati aren't coming outside?'_

_The fireman felt his heart break when she looked up into his eyes. 'No, sweet-pea,' He said, 'they're not.'_

_She looked over at the house that she and her parents had once shared and saw that the raging fire was out now, but she couldn't feel pleased about it. That fire had taken both of her parents off of her. Who would love her now? The tears that had been brimming in her eyes were now spilling down her cheeks and so she pressed her face into the fireman's chest and sobbed whilst he stroked her hair in an attempt to sooth her._

_It felt as though she had been crying for hours when the tears started to stop, but she knew that it had been minutes at the most. 'Mr. Fireman?' She managed to choke out when she peeled back from his chest and looked up at him again. 'Where will I go now? You won't leave me here, will you?' She asked him quietly._

_'Goodness, no!' He wiped her wet cheeks with the backs of his fingers. 'What I'm going to do now is drive you to the fire station. Then I'll make you some warm milk and then you can get some more sleep in one of the beds there, alright?' He raised his brow at her, relieved when her lips curled up into the softest smile._

_'Will you tell me a story to help me fall asleep?' She asked._

_He drew the backs of his fingers down her cheek. 'Of course I will. Can you be a big girl for me whilst I go and tell the others that I'm driving you to the fire station?' When she nodded in response he eased her out of his lap and placed her down on the seat before climbing out of the fire engine. 'I'll be back in a tick.' He said before leaving her for a while to walk over to the other firemen and speak to them all about his plan._

_It wasn't long until he was back and climbing into the fire engine beside her again, a tired smile appearing on her lips when he tucked a lock of her hair back behind her ear. 'Let's get you to the station, shall we?'_

_She hummed. 'Thank you for being so nice, Mr. Fireman.'_

_'It's my pleasure.' He reassured her._

_And, with that, he began to drive her further away from her old home and in the direction of the station._

_As she leaned against him whilst he drove she held her bear to her chest and sighed._

_Yes, she was pleased that she was going somewhere safe and warm, but knowing that she would never see her parents or their beautiful old house again broke her heart and she knew that nothing would ever fix it._

_Nothing._

* * *

'Would you like me to come with you or would you like to go on your own?' Georg gave Maria's knuckles a stroke with his thumb as the two of them strolled through the graveyard together just a week before their wedding, a sigh escaping her when she stopped and turned in his direction so she could look into his eyes.

'I'd like to go on my own this time…if that's alright.' She admitted as she squeezed his hand.

Her eyes fell closed when he took a step closer to her and gave her a warm kiss on the forehead. 'Of course it's alright.' He smiled down at her after pulling back from her skin. 'I'm right here if you need me, okay?'

She nodded before resting her hand on the centre of his chest, rising up onto her tiptoes and kissing him on the lips. 'I love you.' She told him as she stroked the front of his chest and his hand sought out her waist.

'I love you too.' He reassured her.

After sharing one last smile with him she released his hand and walked down the path that led to the grave of her father, her chest becoming a little tight when she reached it at last and crouched down in front of it. 'Hello, vati.' She sighed. 'I know that it's been a while since I've been to talk to you, but the last few weeks have been so chaotic. I wish that someone would have warned me about how hard wedding planning is.'

She giggled to herself.

'I keep wishing that you could be here to walk me down the aisle next week and that mother could be here to help me get dressed. I'm so nervous and I know that having you both here would make things so much easier, but knowing that you'll be watching helps me more than you know.' She swallowed as she was able to feel the tears rising in her throat. 'The two of you would have loved Georg. Yes, he can be a little short tempered at times, but he does love me so much and I know that that was all that you ever wanted for me.'

'I wasn't planning on coming to talk to you this morning. I have one last dress fitting in an hour and then I have to talk to Frau Schmidt about the reception after the wedding, so I was planning on coming to speak to you tomorrow. Then I remembered that it's your birthday and I knew that coming to talk to you was so much more important than writing out one last pile of invitations.' She sniffed as a tear escaped her eye.

'I actually have a present for you this year, vati.' She admitted before she opened her handbag and reached inside, a tearful smile curling her lips as she pulled out Albern. 'I'll admit that he isn't as white as he was when you gave him to me, but he's still just as loved as he was when I saw him for the first time. He's been everywhere with me and I've never stopped loving him. He helped me through some bad times, honest.'

'You're probably wondering why I'm giving Albern back to you after all these years,' She laughed, 'but it's because I…I don't really need him anymore. I will _always _love him, of course I will, but I have a fiancé to comfort and hold me when I need it now. Georg does everything that Albern did for me and more and so I want to give him back to you. I want a piece of me to be with you at all times when I'm not visiting you.'

She glanced over at Georg for a second before smiling when he smiled at her.

'I have to go in a minute, vati, but before I do I want you to know something.' She admitted. 'I love Georg with all my heart and soul and nothing will ever change that, but I could never love him as much as I love you. On the night of the house-fire you risked your life to save mine and lost it whilst trying to do the same for mutti. If you had gotten mutti out first then I'd have been the one to die, but you didn't and I wasn't.'

She stroked her fingers over the engraving of his name on his tombstone. 'I never got the chance to tell you that night,' She reached up to wipe the tear that left eye from her cheek, 'but you're my hero. I speak to the children about you all the time and I'm going to do the same with the children that I have when they are old enough. I want them to know how you saved my life and what a hero you are.' She sniffed softly.

She then set Albern down on his grave before pressing a kiss to her fingertips and then pressing them to his tombstone. 'I have to go now, vati, but I hope that you have the best birthday and remember that you are always going to be the most important man in my life.' She got up again with a sigh. 'I love you so much.'

After telling her mother that she loved her just as much she left their graves and walked along the path that led her back to Georg, the two of them sharing a smile when she slipped her hand into his. 'Do you feel a little better now that you've spoken to him?' He asked her when she sighed and rested her head on his arm.

'I do.' She nodded as she looked up at him. 'Thank you for driving me here.'

Their lips met in a long kiss when he lowered his head. 'If you ever want to come and talk to them, tell me and I'll drop everything to drive you here. I love you and I want to make you the happiest woman living, Maria, and if bringing you here is one way of doing that then I will.' He told her, causing her heart to race.

'I don't know what I did to deserve you.' She admitted.

He leaned his forehead against hers whilst they walked. 'Me either.'

The two of them then shared a smile before she nuzzled her cheek against his arm and allowed him to lead her back to his car that was parked at the entrance to the graveyard. Yes, she was impatient to be his wife and yes, she loved him with all her heart and soul, but her love for her father would always be far stronger.

Even though he was no longer with her, he would always be her best friend.

He would always be her hero.

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**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and I hope that you liked it! I apologise for it not being as happy or as romantic as my other pieces of writing, but I feel a change is good sometimes. I hope that you'll all review and let me know what you thought. Thank you again! :) x**


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